Best Albums of 2007

None of the albums released this year were strong enough to make my all-time top 40, but that doesn’t mean this was a weak year for the album. Sure, digital sales and single-track downloads made huge inroads, and people bought even fewer CDs than they did the year before.

But I am not one of those people. I heard more than 100 albums this year, and am still dying to hear more. Most everything I heard was at least good and much of it was great. Here’s the giant list, starting with an in-depth look at the top 13 albums of 2007. Oh yeah, and if it’s not on here, it simply means I haven’t heard it.

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On Gifts and Giving

I like Christmas. Who doesn’t, really? (Well maybe not everyone…) What I don’t like about Christmas is this forced shopping. I’m supposed to get people things, and they’re supposed to get me things. We’re all supposed to go out and aimlessly shop looking for something to get each other because that’s “what we’re supposed to do.” I’m tired of it.

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Best Songs of 2007

I came across some amazing songs this year, so I’ve taken the time to list a full 100 of them. This is no Pitchfork list either—I’ve got pop songs, country songs, rap songs and yes, indie rock songs too. All irony- and snobbery-free. The first of many year-end best-of lists, here then are my top songs from the year that was: 2007.

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Juno

I feel like you don’t have to love a movie to deem it great, but when you do, it becomes that much more impactive. Last week I saw Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead, an remarkable, dark family drama that in the end leaves you cold. There’s a distance between you and the characters, both for your own sanity, and because the story never really lets you know these people.

Tonight though, tonight I saw a movie I loved. I loved it before I saw it, based only on the snippets of story I had seen and read about, and especially because of the people involved. By the time the brilliant title sequence began, with its elegantly unassuming animation by Shadowplay Studio and perfect soundtrack, these names which I came to see popping up here and there on screen, it confirmed my hopes. In that moment, I knew when it was all over I would be happy. It is a testament, then, to Juno, that it was even better than I thought it would be.

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Top 13 Movies of 2006

You read that right: I’m back again one year later to recap my list of last year’s best movies. But first, the ten runners-up, in alphabetical order:

Bubble, Cars, Casino Royal, Flags of Our Fathers, The Good German, The Good Shepherd, Marie Antoinette, A Scanner Darkly, The Science of Sleep, Wordplay

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